Another shutdown for parts of the federal government is expected this weekend. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security is set to expire Saturday as lawmakers debate new restrictions on President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement agenda. The White House has been negotiating with the Democrats, but the two sides failed to reach a deal by the deadline. Unlike the record 43-day shutdown last fall, the closures will be narrowly confined, as only agencies that are part of Homeland Security will be affected. Still some federal workers could begin to miss paychecks and services like airport screening could be affected if the shutdown drags on for weeks.

A federal judge in San Francisco has indefinitely blocked the Trump administration from firing federal workers during the government shutdown. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston on Tuesday granted a preliminary injunction that bars the firings while a lawsuit challenging them plays out. She had previously issued a temporary restraining order against the job cuts that was set to expire Wednesday. The Republican administration has been slashing jobs in education, health and other areas it says are favored by Democrats. Lawyers for the government argued personnel issues should be heard in a separate venue.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's administration from firing workers during the government shutdown, saying the human cost "cannot be tolerated." U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco on Wednesday granted a temporary restraining order halting the job cuts, saying she believes evidence would show the cuts were illegal. The White House budget office said Friday that mass firings of federal workers had started. That announcement prompted labor unions for federal employees to ask the judge to block the Republican administration from issuing new layoff notices and implementing those already sent out. Emails sent to the White House and the Office of Management and Budget after the judge's ruling haven't been returned.

Mass firings of federal workers have begun. That was the announcement Friday from the White House as Republicans worked to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers to end the government shutdown. A spokesperson for the White House budget office says the layoffs are "substantial" but did not offer more details. Federal health workers, the Education Department and others were being hit Friday. Democrats blasted the move as unions for federal workers quicklyy took the matter to court. At least one Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, said she strongly opposes the layoffs as harmful for her state and the country.

President Donald Trump's administration is warning of no guaranteed back pay for federal workers during a shutdown. That would be a reversal of what's been long-standing policy for some 750,000 furloughed employees. Trump said some people "don't deserve" to be taken care of during an event at the White House. A memo being circulated by the White House on Tuesday says legislation the Republican president signed into law in 2019 does not require back pay. The memo says it's up to Congress to provide the funds. The move was widely seen as a negotiating tactic. But Democratic Sen. Patty Murray calls it a "scare" tactic since the law is clear that workers will be paid.

Lawmakers are showing few signs of meaningful negotiations to break an impasse on reopening the federal government as the shutdown drags through its sixth day. Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday "there's nothing for us to negotiate," while Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries says the "time is now" to work out a deal on health care. Meanwhile, the White House clarified President Donald Trump's remarks Sunday about the firing of federal workers. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was talking about the furloughs happening across the federal government.

The federal government was thrown into a shutdown with no easy endgame in sight. Democrats held firm Wednesday to their demands to salvage health care subsidies that President Donald Trump and Republican in Congress have refused to negotiate. The White House threatened mass layoffs of federal workers in a matter of days. No new talks were scheduled after the president failed this week to secure a deal with congressional leaders. Blame was being cast on all sides. A vote to end the government shutdown has failed. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he's praying that Democrats come to their senses.